Chapter 2 Connector/J Versions

Connector/J 5.1 is a Type 4 pure Java JDBC driver, which
conforms to the JDBC 3.0 and JDBC 4.0 specifications. It
provides compatibility with all the functionality of MySQL,
including 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7. Connector/J 5.1
provides ease of development features, including
auto-registration with the Driver Manager, standardized
validity checks, categorized SQLExceptions, and support for
the JDBC-4.0 XML processing, per connection client
information, NCHAR,
NVARCHAR and
NCLOB types. This release also includes all
bug fixes up to and including Connector/J 5.0.6.

Connector/J 5.0 provides support for all the functionality
offered by Connector/J 3.1 and includes distributed
transaction (XA) support.

Connector/J 3.1 was designed for connectivity to MySQL 4.1 and
MySQL 5.0 servers and provides support for all the
functionality in MySQL 5.0 except distributed transaction (XA)
support.

Connector/J 3.0 provides core functionality and was designed
for connectivity to MySQL 3.x or MySQL 4.1 servers, although
it provides basic compatibility with later versions of MySQL.
Connector/J 3.0 does not support server-side prepared
statements, and does not support any of the features in
versions of MySQL later than 4.1.

The following table summarizes the Connector/J versions available,
along with the details of JDBC driver type, what version of the
JDBC API it supports, what versions of MySQL Server it works with,
and whether it is currently supported or not:

Table 2.1 Summary of Connector/J Versions

Connector/J version

Driver Type

JDBC version

MySQL Server version

Status

5.1

4

3.0, 4.0

4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7

Recommended version

5.0

4

3.0

4.1, 5.0

Released version

3.1

4

3.0

4.1, 5.0

Obsolete

3.0

4

3.0

3.x, 4.1

Obsolete

The current recommended version for Connector/J is 5.1. This guide
covers all four connector versions, with specific notes given
where a setting applies to a specific option.